


Lost in Space

by Little_Aliens



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Five Year Mission, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-01
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-09-27 14:46:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10026488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Aliens/pseuds/Little_Aliens
Summary: Her eyes had that far off look in them again when he sat down next to her, only when his chair squeaked did she notice his arrival. For a while Chekov was hesitant to merely sit at the same table as the other ensign, and it had taken him even longer to call her by her first name instead of her last. But now, as she leaned up against his shoulder with a soft smile, he couldn't imagine being anywhere else.





	1. Quiet Chatter

In the chatter of the mess hall Pavel Chekov could sometimes pick out the slumped over form of Oen Caradoc, who had a habit of sleeping instead of eating during dinner on the Enterprise. It had already been a year since they started their five year mission for Starfleet, yet it took him six months to notice her in the halls. She was younger than him by two years and spent most of her time in the medical bay with Dr. McCoy, according to the medical chief she was the best worker he had. At first Chekov paid her no attention, which was part of the reason had hadn't seen her until half a year later, but after a while he was curious. 

Just from looking at her the navigator knew that she wasn't human, but that was obvious with her large wolf-like ears and tail. The rest of her was human, pale skin that contrasted starkly against her dark brown hair, and striking green eyes that always seemed to hold a steady gaze. Next to Dr. McCoy Oen looked like a child, she had to be at least a foot shorter than the lieutenant commander. Chelov found it amusing to imagine what she had to do in order to reach something on a high shelf, would she even ask for help? 

When she was asleep Chekov couldn't help but notice the slight twitching of her ears that listened intently even while she was resting. Or the gentle sway of her tail as she dreamed. Oen could have gone anywhere, but decided working on the Enterprise was best, and Chekov wanted to know why. He'd had his own reason's for joining up so young, and to see another person seemingly following in his wake intrigued him. 

Not that he had the courage to wake her from her slumber. 

Every once in a while Pavel could turn around and see Oen trailing behind Dr. McCoy, her ears pointed forwards and perked up. Once, or twice she caught his gaze with her own green orbs and nodded in his direction, as if they were old friends catching each other at work. He liked that expression on her face and hoped to see it more, but as the days wore on. He forgot what it looked like. 

After an exhausting three days Chekov sat down at his own table, wanting to be by himself for a little while before taking on the next day with the same enthusiasm as the ones previous. Somewhere between wondering what tomorrow had in store and watching the gentle breathing of ensign Caradoc out of the corner of his eye he fell asleep. 

Only when someone shook his shoulder gently did he start to rouse awake. His eyes were heavy as he tried to shake the slumber away from them, the dim light of the mess hall did little to help him. 

"It'll be more comfortable in your bed," a soft voice spoke to him. Unsure of where he was for a moment Chekov forced his eyes open completely to see Oen looking down at him calmly. He couldn't help but notice the way her ears flicked this way and that as she listened for anyone else in the hall. 

"What?" Was all Chekov could manage in his newly awoken state. 

"You'll be sore tomorrow if you stay here all night," she explained letting him collect himself. "Pavel," her use of his first name struck a chord in him for some reason and he straightened up immediately. Oen took a step backwards as he got to his feet and glanced around, the rest of the tables were empty. It was late, well into the early hours of the morning and Chekov could only think about the fact that she had used his first name. 

It wasn't uncommon, on the Enterprise, to only call someone by their last name, in fact most of the crew had gotten used to it a long time ago. First names were reserved for friends or family, people you were close to or wished you were close to. 

"Thank you for waking me," Chekov murmured attempting to rub the sleep from his eyes. Oen offered him a sideways smile, her ears dropping lazily on top of her head while her tail flicked back and forth. 

"Of course," she nodded towards him before making her way towards the exit. He followed her slowly, content to be in her presence even if they weren't talking to each other. A comfortable silence. Such a thing was sometimes hard to come by, but perhaps it was the lingering promise of slumber that hung in the air. As long as he was moving towards a bed talking was unnecessary.  

He wanted to say something else to her, but couldn't bring himself to break the quiet, it was the first time they'd spoken to each other and he couldn't even start a decent conversation. Even though now really wasn't the time for it.  

Pausing just outside the doors Oen turned to him suddenly, her unwavering gaze holding his stare as she listened for anyone else roaming about in the night. 

"See you tomorrow," was all the navigator could manage to say. It was a silly comment, because they rarely spoke to each other as it was and one late night chat wasn't going to change that. Chekov almost frowned in irritation with himself, he could have said anything to her, _goodnight, thanks again, let me make it up to you_. But no, it'd fallen flat. 

He hadn't been expecting to see Oen smile at him, nor the amusement that lit up in her eyes. It played on her features for a moment before settling back into her calculating gaze. 

"Goodnight Chekov," she whispered before walking off down the hallway. He watched her until she turned down another corridor and disappeared. 

-x- 

It was another month before they would talk again, and so much time had passed until that point that Chekov wasn't even sure it had happened anymore. He had gone down to work with Mr. Scott, and get the hang of a new operating system that had just been installed when he heard her name. The Chief engineer said he was feeling a little under the weather, which made him laugh because there wasn't much of it in space. 

"Can you give me something to stop it?" He'd called medical for some input and a grumpy McCoy had answered. 

"I'll send Oen down," the doctor muttered ending the transmission. Apparently Mr. Scott made a lot of calls to medical for trivial things that had to do with his friend Keenser who was constantly catching colds and melting things. The medical ensign showed up around five minutes later, holding an injector and an information pad that she put away upon seeing Chekov, Mr. Scott, and Keenser glance up to stare at her. 

Chekov was used to seeing her brown hair loose and swaying with her movement, hanging just below her shoulders, but it was in a ponytail today. He couldn't help but smile at the way it waved back and forth with her tail as she walked towards them. 

"Guys," she sighed with a laugh. "I was here a couple days ago for Keenser. I'm starting to think you're just calling me down here to hang out," she huffed moving towards them before catching sight of Chekov. "Hello again," she nodded at him. 

"I'm sure Dr. McCoy would love that," Mr. Scott scoffed sitting down so they were eye level. "This time you're here for me lassie," he explained feeling a little lightheaded for a second. 

"I know, I heard it on the way in," she said. Her ears were turning ever so slightly, catching noises they didn't even know existed. "You probably caught it from him though," she motioned her head towards Keenser with a grin. 

"I don't doubt it," the engineer laughed as the smaller alien huffed next to them. 

"Are you in the middle of something with Chekov? I'm sorry to just butt in," she hesitated for a moment to glance around. "I should have asked beforehand," she muttered under her breath. 

"Oh, get on," Mr. Scott sighed. "Give me a moment and we'll be back to it laddie," he addressed Chekov with a shrug. Oen could come back in a little while when they had finished and give the chief engineer a shot, she had other work to do anyway. 

"Eet's fine Mr. Scott, you can continue Caradoc," Chekov assured them. 

"Oen'll just take a couple minutes," Mr. Scott explained as the girl took out her injection device. The medical ensign then instructed the man to take a deep breath in and out while she stood quietly in front of him. 

From where he was sitting down Chekov had a clear view of Oen as she stood infront of the chief engineer. She looked different with her hair in a ponytail, and for the first time since he had been stealing glances at her for the past six months Chekov saw the faint scar that stretched across the middle of her nose. Her face looked different, and more open without all the hair surrounding it like a blanket, yet he couldn't decide if he liked it better than how she'd looked before. 

Her posture seemed more confident when she was working, compared to the relaxed composure she had all those nights ago in the mess hall. It made her seem more mature than she was, and Chekov wondered faintly what made her want to grow up so fast. 

"Sounds like you got this yesterday," she muttered reaching up to touch his forehead. "You'd most likely have had a fever tomorrow morning, and a cough in a few days. Good thing you called me early instead of waiting for it to get really bad," she emphasized the last word while jerking her attention to Keenser. The alien looked away from her and she smiled before adjusting some setting on her injection tool. "You know there are other people in the med bay you can call right?" 

"Yeah," Mr. Scott grimaced as she held the device to his neck. "But no one can figure it out as fast as you, and they don't fancy a talk afterwards either," he winced as she pushed the button. 

"Yeah, sure," she said sarcastically. "Seeing as how you're already involved, I don't much fancy a talk right now either. Call someone else next time," she turned to leave but hesitated for a moment. "Bye Keenser, Chekov," she waved before walking off. 

"I see how it is, ignore the sick person," Mr. Scott called after her with a grin. "Didn't know you were friends with Oen?" He suddenly directed his attention towards Chekov, but the ensign shook his head. 

"We've spoken a few times," he explained. 

"Well she's a good lass, always coming down to make sure we haven't died," he joked before turning back to work. 

"She comes down often?" Chekov brightened at the thought. If he spent more time with Mr. Scott, it'd mean more time with Oen. 

"Once or twice a week I think," the Scottish man looked towards his friend for confirmation. "She comes down for tea sometimes, when she's missing home, still just a kid," he sighed. 

"Where's she from?" The ensign tried to push for further information. Already thinking about what type of tea she liked best, and if he would ever join her for a cup. He missed Mr. Scott and Keenser exchange knowing grins. 

"You'll have to ask her that for yourself," Mr. Scott mumbled. 

They dropped the conversation after that and Chekov didn't see the girl again until a few nights later in the mess hall. He expected to see her slumped over the table, like she always was, but this time she was sitting up in her chair, holding a mug of something steaming. There was no one at her table, but he could see the way her ears twitched and flickered this way and that, listening to the conversations of those around her.  

Oen didn't even notice him as he walked up to her table, her eyes had a sort of far off look to them, as if she was looking at an unknown land. His voice seemed to startle her out of her thoughts and she turned to look at him slightly surprised. 

"Sorry?" She set her mug on the table. 

"Can I sit with you?" He asked, watching as her startled expression relaxed when she saw who it was. 

"If you want," she smiled at him. It was a tired expression that she offered, one he recognized on her face immediately. "Though I might not be much of a conversation, my brain turned off about an hour ago," she laughed. 

Chekov grinned at her before tucking into his food, Oen considered him for a moment before staring off into the distance again.  

"Rough day?" He brought her out of her thoughts again. She didn't turn to look at him this time and instead looked down into her mug, swirling the contents idly before answering. 

"Something like that," she answered before chuckling softly. "Sometimes people get sick with some new thing we pick up off a planet, and I'm running around all day. Dr. McCoy doesn't like using the other ensigns because they take too long to read the scanner half the time," she explained before realizing she'd started to ramble. "He sends me instead," she finished off with a sigh. 

"He must trust you," Chekov offered and received a laugh in reply. 

"I don't think that man trusts anybody," she chuckled. 

As soon as they got to talking about commanding officers the conversation went smoothly and they exchanged soft laughter. Oen was quick to respond, and clever with her responses, he wanted to make her laugh so they'd keep talking to each other. 

Apparently there was another ensign in the science division who was causing trouble for some of the other female workers and not fessing up to it. One time he came in with a cold and acted high and mighty with Oen, as if she was beneath him or something. So she injected him with a vaccine she knew he was allergic to, and watched him swell until he could barely speak anymore. 

"Dr. McCoy found out," she muttered softly. It was another habit he noticed about her speech pattern. If she'd done something morally questionable it was uttered barely above a whisper. Which meant that he had to be close enough to her to hear what she was saying. 

"I've learned something new," Chekov said with a grin. She looked at him curiously, her ears perking towards him in hesitation. "Not to mess with the medical staff," he said making her nod in agreement. 

It was quiet for a few moments after that, Chekov half expected the silence to hang awkwardly in the air around them, heavy with anxious thoughts. Yet, just as before, it was a comfortable feeling. With so many people talking around them about their own days, or what they were doing tomorrow it didn't feel so lonely. 

"Can I ask you something?" He caught her attention this time, green eyes staring into his own turquoise ones before flicking away. "You don't have to answer, I'm just curious." 

"Depending on what it is I might humor you," she teased him. 

"I see you in here all the time, but you're always alone," he started off strong but didn’t know where to end it. Instead of continuing Chekov fell silent again and looked down towards him mostly empty tray when he couldn't find the right words. Initially he hadn't thought of it as a deep question, and intended to keep the topic light, but his curiosity seeped in somehow. 

"That wasn't really a question, but I'll bite," she picked up her mug again. By now the contents had to be cold, but she swirled them around anyway. "Mr. Scott asked me the same thing," she sighed as if the question was boring. "Do you have a lot of siblings Chekov?" 

"None," he shook his head. 

"Makes sense," she muttered under her breath. "I have seven brothers," she let the information sink in. "Which means that growing up in that house was very loud, all the time, it usually gave me a headache. I couldn't wait to get out of there, to escape the noise," she put her mug back down again, slightly agitated with herself. Her ears tucked back partially, mimicking her facial expression. "But now that I have," she faltered. "It's too quiet." 

"The noise reminds you of home," Chekov finished for her. She nodded, glancing at him before letting her eyes flick to the people around them. 

"Silly, isn't it?" She laughed shortly.  

At that moment, Oen, whom he'd thought of as being very mature, appeared young before him. It was a fleeting feeling he'd gotten when Mr. Scott mentioned that she sometimes missed home. All of a sudden he wished he was sitting next to her, so he could assure her it was not a such a foolish thing at all. 

"Not at all," he answered softly. 

The conversation after that was scarce and far between, but neither of them seemed to mind all that much. Chekov was the first to get up to leave, he still had a little bit of work to finish and didn't want to leave it till the morning. Oen thanked him for sitting down and talking with her, and he said much of the same in return. 

If anything Chekov had thought his attraction to Oen would pass after he spoke to her, that the curiosity would fall away after he figured out who she was, but it hadn't. He was already looking forward to the next conversation they would have, and couldn't help but imagine hugging the other ensign when she felt lonely. Or to simply sit next to her with his own mug of steam as she leaned on him lazily, and then they could listen to the chatter together. 


	2. Bitter Tea

The change was small, a subtle difference whenever they would pass by each other. If Oen wasn't talking to anyone they'd catch eyes and she'd smile softly with a nod in his direction. Sometimes her eyes would light up in amusement if she could tell he was having a harrowing day by the way he sighed, but otherwise they hadn't spoken since that night in the mess hall. 

Chekov kept looking for opportunities for another talk during dinner, but Oen either wasn't there or already asleep by the time he walked in. A week went by without a single word exchanged and the navigator was starting to get a little anxious about it. Her simple acknowledgement in the hallways stuck in his mind, but the way she laughed and the cadence of her voice had started to fade. 

There was a part of him that wished he could go back in time and leave his curiosity unexplored, his need to talk to her unsatisfied. Because he couldn't stop picturing grabbing her arm as they passed in the hallway just to say hello, for her to quirk an eyebrow at his abrasiveness before laughing. Chekov couldn't quite figure out what had gotten him so hooked on her, perhaps it was the honesty she'd expressed or the way she smiled so easily.  

Either way, when he saw her sitting alone again during dinner all thoughts of nervousness about when they might speak again vanished. She had another mug of something sitting next to her on the table while she read off an information pad, her ears flicked carelessly about, not quite paying attention but still listening. Chekov wondered for a moment why no one else seemed keen to sit down with her, though he had to remind himself that more often than not she was sleeping. Which was fine with him, it meant there was no competition. 

"Don't you know the rules," he spoke while placing his tray down. Oen looked up at him suddenly her face full of confusion about what he might be talking about. "No work during dinner," he explained watching her eyes light up in amusement. 

"Good thing I don't have any food then," she joked before taking a sip from her mug. "Good evening Chekov," she greeted him with a nod. It was the same expression she offered to him when they passed in the corridors and for a moment the navigator was relieved nothing had changed. 

"Good evening," he returned it, settling down in his seat across from her again. 

"How was your day?" She glanced at the pad for a moment before looking at him fully. He was slightly startled by her attention but couldn't help the anxiousness that washed over him at her question. They were speaking like old friends, and for a second Chekov couldn't believe how easy she was to talk to. 

"The Keptain was in a good mood so it was quite lively today," he muttered. They were moving towards a new planet and looking to start exploring it within the next couple days, which meant it'd be busy soon but entertaining at least. "A new planet to go to." 

"Oh that's right," Oen laughed softly in front of him. "Dr. McCoy was complaining about something like that. The captain always wants to take him along, because they're friends, and most of the time he wants nothing to do with it." 

"He does seem pretty grouchy whenever he's on the bridge," Chekov mused. 

"That's just how he is," she muttered fondly. "He reminds me of my older brother, so I don't mind." 

"Did you have a good day?" He flipped the question on her and looked up in time to see her ears perk up towards him. 

"All I can say is the tea helps," her gaze flicked to the mug for a second. 

"What kind is it?" 

"Jasmine green," her hands found it again. "Helps get rid of all the chemical smells from the med bay." 

Their conversation continued slowly, not awkwardly, only because Chekov was trying to eat at the same time in order to make it appear normal. He didn't want it to look like he had sought her out for a chat, and was somehow convinced that if he wasn't eating she'd know exactly what he was thinking. If anything, she thought he was funny, trying to talk with his mouth full all the time, or maybe that was disbelief. He couldn't really tell. 

Turned out that Oen liked watching bad old movies, which he'd found out after asking how she liked to spend her free time. It was more fun with other people around, she hadn't done it much after starting the five year mission but was looking forward to her next day off. 

"Mr. Scott and Keenser join me every once in a while, and we just end up arguing about little details and plot holes," she smiled fondly. "Though sometimes I think he just comes to drink and be loud," she muttered the last part under her breath again. Making Chekov wish he was closer to her so he could hear every comment that came out as such. 

"You spend a lot of time with them?" The question rushed out of him before he could stop it. The navigator froze for a moment, wanting to rewind and take it back. He'd been meaning to ask her that, but not so bluntly. They were supposed to ease into it so he could find out when to go down there and get to know her better without it being too painfully obvious. Yet he'd just messed it up. 

"Well I don't have very many friends," she faltered for a moment. Her ears seemed to flatten a little on top of her head as she looked away from him as if embarrassed. "It's kind of hard when you don't talk to anyone," she laughed at herself. 

"You're talking to me," he countered. 

"Yeah, but you started it," Oen's gaze flicked to him in fake irritation. "Sorry," she chuckled shortly. "I'm starting to get sarcastic." 

Chekov wanted to assure her that it was fine. That he liked the way her lips curled when she said something she knew was a little mean or exaggerated, but instead told her it was fine.  

He told her a couple stories about the missions that had taken place before the five year mission started and enjoyed watching her emotions change in front of him. For a moment she'd look thoughtful as she thought about whether or not Khan was right or wrong in what he did, and then it would change to understanding or shock depending on where he was in the story.  

Oen didn't have much to offer in return because most of the time she was in the med bay, and only very rarely, did she ever leave to ship to explore. Dr. McCoy had once told her it was important for her to stay behind just in case something happened to him so she could patch him up. She didn't mind at all, it meant that when they did want her on a planet it'd be very exciting and wouldn't feel like work at all. He couldn't help but imagine her walking around uncertainly, her ears twitching around to catch everything while her tail flicked anxiously about. 

They talked for a while, Chekov was so caught up in keeping the conversation going that he didn't notice everyone else around them leaving. To be fair, Oen didn’t seem to notice either, or care for that matter. Perhaps, he hoped, that she wanted to continue the conversation as much as he did. Although there was a part of him that knew he was trying to keep her there because he wasn't sure when they would be able to do this again. 

Their meetings were so few and far between that the navigator wanted to make the ones that did happen last as long as possible. It could be that Oen was just putting up him, that she'd noticed a long time ago how nervous he was about saying the wrong thing. If she could hear that Mr. Scott was sick from down the hallway she was definitely able to recognize the quiver in his voice or the thumping of his heart. 

Yet he had to stop himself from thinking that, she was laughing and smiling at him, with him. For now, that was all he could ask for. 

Only when a red light flashed on her information pad did their conversation fade into a curious silence, she looked down at it a little surprised before looking back up at him. 

"What is it?" Chekov asked, wondering faintly if a machine was going to get in the way. 

"We talked for a while," she sounded impressed. "I didn't know it was this late." 

"Me either," he lied. Oen gave him a skeptical look for a second before trying to turn off the red light. "Is it a message?" He questioned wanting to know who had sent it if it was. 

"Kind of," she muttered finally opting to just shut it off completely. "Recently Dr. McCoy has noticed me sleeping in here and, if he remembers, he sometimes sends me a reminder to go back to my own room," she chuckled softly. "Something about sleeping on the job makes life harder for him." 

"Did you fall asleep during work?" He was joking but the comment earned him a glare he wasn't expecting. 

"No," she snapped out before blushing in embarrassment. The way she reacted so quickly, and sternly made Chekov smile, the blush was as cute as her realization of unneeded irritation. "But I know he's waiting for it," she explained under her breath. 

"Well you don’t want him to be right, do you?" Chekov questioned while standing. He hadn’t wanted to stand, not at all, but he also didn't want to keep Oen from being able to function the next day. Dr. McCoy was grumpy enough without them giving him a reason to be more so, and they could talk again later, right? 

"Definitely not," she followed him to her feet. 

"Do you want to finish this another night?" Now he was just fishing for her to agree with him. If she felt the same way, perhaps even enjoyed his company, it was a step in the right direction. 

"I might not remember what we were talking about, but I'll try," she said sheepishly, her ears flopping a little. That was all he'd wanted to hear, that she was fine with talking to him again, he could get to know her more and it wouldn’t feel like he was following her around. 

"Well goodnight then," he nodded at her before turning around sharply. He heard her laugh before she returned the favor. 

"Chekov!" She called out to him with a laugh, smiling when he turned around. "Goodnight." If only he could hear that every night. 

-x- 

Two days later she was already down in the engines with Mr. Scott when he arrived. The chief engineer gave him a knowing look, which meant he probably already knew that Chekov had a thing for the other ensign. It had started out as simple questions about Oen, and then he was coming down more often and looking slightly disappointed when she wasn't there, though she rarely was when he went looking. 

Usually Oen would come down for lunch because she didn't want to eat in the med bay again and, as she'd told them before, liked the white noise that the machines working provided. At first she had been a little uneasy around them, but after a bit of back and forth nit picking they warmed up to each other well enough. Now, quite regularly, Oen would thank them for being probably her only good friends on the Enterprise and more often than not Mr. Scott would scoff and say they weren't friends at all. 

Of course Chekov didn't know this, the chief engineer was sure he barely knew the medical ensign at all, if his lingering awkwardness was anything to go by. 

This time, Chekov hadn't even been hoping that Oen was there, he was coming to ask Mr. Scott something, although when he saw she was there the question left his mind so fast he couldn't even remember why he was there in the first place. 

"Are you following me?" She laughed without turning around. That alone meant that she now recognized him by noise and smell, which he had to think was a move in the right direction. 

"No," he said too quickly. At that point Oen turned around with an amused smile on her face, holding a flowery tea cup with a dark liquid in it. 

"I'm only joking," she assured him before taking a sip. The drink, whatever it was, made her lips twist in discomfort and had her reaching for more sweetener. 

"If you don't like it stop drinking it," the chief engineer chided. "Tell me you're coming and I'll make a different one next time," he laughed at her bitter expression. 

"I'm kind of hoping that if I drink it enough the bad taste will go away," she explained going for another sip. "But it hasn't happened yet." Keenser grunted next to her, shaking his head in disapproval and making her ears perk up in his direction. "What? You don't like it either," she went for another bitter sip. 

To see her so lively and ready to respond with someone else made Chekov a little jealous, down here with Mr. Scott, it looked like they had been friends for a long time. At the same time, he kind of wished they would keep going so he could see how she was around other people, whether or not she was different with him. It didn't appear so. 

"Is it too strong for you?" Chekov mused catching a slight glare from her. 

"A wee bit," Mr. Scott answered for her with a chuckle. "So why are you here?" 

The navigator stiffened for a second but was a little relieved to see that Oen was still talking to Keenser, though he couldn't be sure that she wasn't listening anyway. The question he had brought down with him was partially forgotten but Chekov could always make one up. 

"I was wondering if you had anything new to show me," he explained, relieved that it sounded normal. 

"Do you need me to leave?" She broke into their conversation cautiously. "If you're going to start talking jargon I can always go bother Dr. McCoy." 

She always said this to the chief engineer when he had work to do unaware that the man knew she was just going to go back up to the med bay and work through lunch. He'd figured out early on that Oen wasn't too comfortable talking to many people. He'd caught her walking the corridors one night after having tried to hang out with some of the other ensigns, she'd explained to him with a smile that it wasn't for her. 

Mr. Scott knew about her family and why she'd joined Starfleet in the first place, she was a good lass and he certainly didn't mind having her around. In fact he was hoping that Chekov would help to bring her out of her shell a little more, though Keenser might not want to share. 

"No it's fine," Chekov said before the chief engineer could.  

"He can wait till after lunch," Mr. Scott muttered picking up his own cup of tea. 

"Should I come back then?" The navigator asked kindly. Of course he wanted to stay, but if Oen wanted to spend time with them alone he would respect it. 

"You can stay," Oen interjected before the Scottish man could respond. "He can stay right?" She looked at Keenser who merely grunted in response. 

"Fine by me," the chief said sitting down. "Or did you have other plans for lunch?" 

"None," he replied without a second thought. 

For some reason the conversation continued on the topic of drinks, Oen and Mr. Scott got to talking about tea for a little while before Chekov helped it change to alcohol.  

"Can you hold your liquor?" The Scottish man looked towards the navigator with a grin. 

"Quite well actually," he nodded glancing at Oen. She was shaking her head at the both of them. "What is it?" He asked with a laugh. 

"Men and their alcohol," she scoffed swirling the last bits of her tea around. 

"Just because you don't know the joys of drinking," the engineer tisked. She looked at him with a fleeting glare before looking at Keenser to see what he thought of it all, but the alien merely grunted. 

"The joy of drinking?" She laughed at him. "Oh please,"another comment under her breath. 

Now fired up, Mr. Scott and Chekov named a handful of different drinks they thought she might like but she simply claimed that it wasn't for her. It was fun talking to the chief engineer and Oen at the same time, mostly because she was friends with the man and opened up more easily around him. So he was seeing a side of the medical ensign that didn't appear in the mess hall or even while she was working. It was nice. 

"It doesn't matter anyway because I'm not old enough to drink," she finally huffed.  

"Oh, that's right, you're from the states," Mr. Scott muttered scratching his jaw. "Are there age limits in space though?" 

"You're from Earth?" Chekov asked curiously. He'd assumed she lived wherever her race was from, a different planet in another galaxy probably, but not earth. He hadn't been expecting that. 

"Don't sound so surprised," she chuckled. "We lived where my dad was from for a while, until Jeb and Seb were born, but they didn't like half-breeds on Lupiol. So we moved to Colorado, where my mom was born," she explained with a sigh. "Earth is prettier anyway." 

"Do you miss it?" The navigator asked, still curious. 

"Certain parts," her voice sounded distant. "The moons at night maybe." 

"I'll tell you what I miss about home," Mr. Scott cut in. "Proper beverages and food, the replicator gets things wrong sometimes," he scoffed. "You remember that haggis it gave me?" 

"It looked so awful," Oen fake gagged at the thought of it. 

The conversation died down a little bit after that as they ate what food they had brought down and talked about the new planet that was to be explored the next day. Mr. Scott and Oen were prepared to be stuck on the Enterprise with everyone else who was needed for the ship while the captain and a grumpy McCoy would land. They joked for a few minutes about which places they thought had been the worst so far and Oen filled them in on an exploding plant parasite that someone had brought back unknowingly. 

Once again it was the red flash of her information pad that brought the conversation to a close. 

"Dr. McCoy needs me back," she mumbled going to put the tea cup away. "Thanks for the tea Mr. Scott," she shoved the pad in her bag carefully. 

"Call me Scotty already," he groaned. "You're making me feel old," he complained as she started to leave. 

"But you are," she tried to keep a straight face but laughed at his dark expression. "Only joking, I'll see you tomorrow maybe. Bye Chekov," she added at the end without turning around.  

He watched her leave until she was out of sight and turned to see that the chief was staring at him with a small smirk on his face. Chekov ignored him, curious about the fact that the Scottish man had seemed to catch on right away about him liking her. If he had noticed so quickly, did that mean Oen also knew what he wanted?


	3. Crowded

Another week went by before they spoke to each other again. There were a couple nights that Oen was asleep in the mess hall again, but none where she was sitting alone with a mug of tea. Those were the times that he hoped for, and sometimes Chekov could see her staring off into the distance. The steam rising up in front of her grey-green eyes as if she was getting enveloped by a faint mist. In his imagination of her he would walk up to her table, and she would turn and smile at him softly. 

Perhaps eventually, he hoped, it would come naturally for her. 

For now the navigator had to settle for the small grin that would curl her lips as they passed in the corridors, and the slight nods that meant they were busy but still wanted to say hello. 

The new planet that Dr. McCoy had begrudgingly gone to with the captain had looked peaceful from space, although it was quite covered with clouds. On the surface the wind beat down upon them and the sky dropped a stinging rain that melted their clothes. The land was a mess of caves and underground passageways, and though they looked for three days there were no signs of life in the darkness. 

Since he'd been busy on the bridge for a good four days Chekov hadn't been able to wander down to the engines to see if Oen had decided to drop in for a visit. So he kept the medical ensign in his immediate memory, and tried to imagine the way she'd flushed in embarrassment after snapping at him. At that moment she'd looked away from him anxiously, though he could still see her reddened cheeks and the way her ears had flicked down. The navigator couldn't help but think about what she might be doing in a spare moment. 

An ensign in the science department who frequently followed Spock was turning thirty and had invited most of the bridge to his party. Chekov was ready for a night of drinks, but instead of heading over to it immediately Chekov had rushed towards the mess hall. Thinking about how Oen could be sitting alone, or how he might catch her just before she fell asleep, but she wasn't there. 

He hadn't been expecting to see her sitting at the bar with Dr. McCoy and Mr. Scott. The two men on either side of her were holding glasses of alcohol and seemed to be deep in conversation with each other. Oen, on the other hand, appeared to have water and no interest in the topic they were discussing. If the look of boredom was anything to go by anyway. 

She didn't notice him come in and instead looked down at her drink with a blank expression on her face, probably thinking about how she'd rather be sleeping. Chekov smiled at the thought and moved towards the bar, only to be pulled away by the man who had invited him. Within the next few moments there was a drink in his hand and questions in the air about his day. 

It'd be rude of him to pull away now, and even though he wished the guy would leave him alone Chekov was sure Oen would still be there in a few minutes. 

"No," Oen's voice caught his attention at one point. His eyes searched for her at the bar but she'd left it and was now sat at a table with the chief engineer and Keenser. The Scottish man was muttering something while pushing his drink towards her while she laughed and shook her head. 

"Come on," Mr. Scott urged. "Just one drink." 

"Not going to happen," she shook her head while takip and drink of water. 

"You're making Keenser sad by refusing," the man said motioning towards his friend. Chekov couldn't quite catch how the small alien responded but it made Oen scoff and drum her fingers on the table. 

At this point the navigator was completely ignoring the conversation he'd been involved in previously and staring across the room with an anxious look on his face. Lucky for him, the people around didn’t seem to notice yet. Initially he'd started talking because girl in operations had a question for him that he didn't mind discussing, but now it had gotten drab. 

There was a small feeling of remorse that Chekov felt by disregarding the topic that was being talked about around him, but mostly he wished he was sitting at the table with Oen. In fact, he was wondering how he might be able to leave his current group behind and join her. 

"I will take one sip," Oen hesitated for a moment when Mr. Scott grinned next to her. "If you promise to stop asking me to drink every time you talk about alcohol." 

"Deal," the engineer didn't even stop to think about it. She sighed in front of him before letting her hands settle around his glass of Scotch and lifting it to settle just under her nose. She muttered something that Chekov couldn't catch from so far away, but it made Mr. Scott chuckle in response. 

Slowly the liquid was brought to her lips and the navigator watched as Oen's ears flattened almost completely to the top of her head before her eyes scrunched up tight. The Scottish man next to her seemed greatly entertained by her disgusted reaction and gingerly took his glass back as she shoved it towards him. He glanced at Keenser before catching sight of Chekov watching them from across the room, the man offered a lopsided smirk and jerked his head slightly. As if calling the navigator towards them.  

"It was nice talking to you. Excuse me," Chekov finally said glancing at his group for a moment. They hadn't seemed to notice how blatantly he was ignoring them and mumbled something he didn't catch as he moved away. 

"Does all alcohol taste like this?" Oen groaned looking for a way to rid her mouth of the taste. 

"All the good ones do," Chekov broke into their conversation easily. There were a couple open seats at the table, he took the one next to Keenser, who was sitting next to Oen. 

"Well I'm never going to drink it," she mumbled frowning. 

"More for us then," the engineer laughed. 

Their conversation picked up slightly when Chekov asked Oen about how Dr. McCoy was once he was back in the medical ward after being on the planet. She told them about how he hadn't let anyone else touch him except for her and that he'd tried to tell her what he thougth was wrong until she told him to stuff it. 

"Bet he didn't like that," Mr. Scott chuckled. 

"He was a little surprised," she smiled at the memory of it. "Probably because I raised my voice to talk over him." 

"Did it shut him up for a while?" The engineer questioned making Oen laugh. 

"Maybe a minute," she mused with a soft smile on her face. 

"He still doesn't trust the other ensigns?" Chekov asked making Oen's ears perk in his direction. She turned to him at that point, a playful look flashing across her features. 

"No," she scoffed. "And it's getting really annoying," she complained while Keenser grunted something. It caused the medical ensign to turn her attention on the smaller alien immediately, a suspicious glare set in her eyes. "I end up giving them some of my work because there's too much of it for me." 

"I thought you liked working," the navigator teased her. 

"Not that much, I don't," she was quick to reply. "Everyone is older than me, I shouldn't have all of the responsibility," she muttered. 

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Mr. Scott said in a serious voice suddenly. 

"What?" Oen sounded genuinely confused. Her ears flicking quickly towards her friends as she tried to decipher whether or not he was actually going to do it or if he was joking. "No, it's fine," she assured him. 

The engineer considered her for a moment before getting to his feet and nodding towards Keenser, who stood up as well to follow him. 

"I think he means it," Chekov chuckled at Oen's worried expression. 

"You can't be that drunk already," she called after him exasperated. It was quiet between the two ensigns for a moment while her ears twitched this way and that in search of something else, she was staring down at the table bitterly. 

"Do you wan-," Chekov started to say before she shushed him. She held up her hand for a second, waving it slowly back and forth making the navigator cringe. He was just going to offer to go after the Scottish man, but apparently Oen wanted nothing of the sort of at the moment. Was there something he was supposed to do in this moment, because obviously he wasn't meant to say anything. 

In another moment she got to her feet, still listening for something in the crowd of people around them while walking closer to where Chekov was sitting. The navigator watched her warily, unsure of what to do next. Then she was sighing in relief, turning to him as if nothing had happened. 

"Dr. McCoy isn’t here anymore," she exhaled catching his look of confusion. "Oh, sorry for shushing you, that must have been annoying," her ears flopped to the side of her head apologetically. 

"What were you doing?" He just wanted to know what had happened, so next time if it was going on and someone tried to interrupt her he knew what to do. 

"I was listening for Dr. McCoy's voice, making sure that Scotty wouldn't find him," she explained. "He left," she sighed again. "Thank goodness." 

"I didn't know you could pick people up like that," he said slightly surprised.  

"Well everyone sounds a little different," she muttered leaning against the table just next to him. "That's why I always acknowledge you in the halls, now that I'm used to you. I can hear you coming from down the corridor," she explained with a grin. "It's kind of like, hearing a friend call out to you," she faltered trying to find the right way to say it. "Even though you can't see who's saying it, you know who it is." 

"Huh," Chekov mumbled picturing Oen calling out to him. Would he recognize her voice? 

"Does that even make sense?" She questioned him with a worried frown. "Kind of, hmm," her voice faded off. 

"I get the gist of it," he assured her. 

"Okay," she laughed, a little embarrassed to be rambling. "I'm going to go see where Scotty went, I'll be right back okay?" She said catching his gaze. 

"I'll be here," he replied making her smile. She patted his shoulder suddenly, touching him only slightly before the feeling was gone. 

"Sorry again for shushing you," she apologized with a frown. "I used to hate it when my mom did that to me." 

"I'll get you back sometime, so we'll be even," he joked, watching the way her ears perked up suddenly, pointing towards him. 

"Oh yeah?" She grinned. "I'll try to remember it." 

With that she was walking back towards the bar, where the Scottish man had last been seen going, her tail swishing this way and that as she dodged people and ducked under drunken flailing arms. 

Chekov was a little relieved to have some time to himself, even if it only lasted for a couple moments as he thought about what had just happened. Apparently she knew him well enough to recognize him by ear, which was interesting, but nonetheless exciting. Did that mean she considered him a friend? How long had it taken her to remember what he sounded like?  

She probably wouldn't answer that question. Then she'd touched him. Though it'd felt like a friendly pat on the shoulder the navigator couldn't get over the small weight of her hand on him. When she'd turned away from him there was some part that wanted to grab her and pull her back to him. Chekov was sure, with how small she was, that Oen would fit perfectly against his chest and on his lap. 

All of a sudden the navigator was imagining the smaller ensign looking up at him while leaning against his chest, and sleepy expression on her face as she warmed her hands on a steaming mug of tea. Chekov flushed at the thought before scolding himself, she'd barely touched his shoulder and his brain was already going haywire. If anything, Oen was a friend, and even then, she was barely that. 

He couldn't get ahead of himself so soon. 

"Chekov," a voice interrupted his thoughts suddenly. 

It was the birthday man and two other women, standing in front of the table he was sitting at and looking at him skeptically. It was a funny looking scene, obviously the man was trying to entice one of the girls to come back to his room, else he wouldn't have been working on them for most of the night. Perhaps there were two in case the other one said no. 

"Sorry?" He glanced around looking for Oen. 

"Can we sit down?" He asked, a grin settling on his face. 

"Yes, I just need that seat for a friend," he muttered pointing to the one across from him. 

"Okay," the other man muttered settling next to Chekov and letting his ladies sit in the other empty seats. "Who's the friend?" 

"Ensign Caradoc," he said wondering if she had managed to find Mr. Scott or not. 

"Is she the little one from medical?" One of the girls cut in. 

"Yeah, Dr. McCoy is always picking on her," the other woman replied. Her blue uniform explained how she knew, Chekov always tried to guess which department people were in based on the color, but never seemed to get any right. "She's a cute little thing," the woman drawled. There was a little bit of a southern accent that slipped out near the end. 

"Really?" The man questioned. Chekoc felt the sudden urge to leave, because if he stayed at the table Oen would return and meet them, and the navigator wanted to keep her for himself. 

"Can I interrupt you for a second," Oen's tentative comment caught their attention. All eyes moved to her instantly and for a moment Chekov was sure that she would shrink beneath their gaze but her ears stayed perked up and defiant.  

"You must be Caradoc," the man mused staring at the top of her head for a second. 

"Happy Birthday Lieutenant Davak," she nodded at him before looking back at Chekov. 

"She knows my name," he laughed taking a sip from his drink. 

"Scotty left already, I'm going to make sure he made it back to his room," she explained glancing about the area. "It was nice talking to you, goodnight," she said in a rush before he could say anything else. 

All he could manage was a good night of his own before she was walking towards the exit without looking back around. It was quick and he hadn’t been expecting it at all, Chekov was sure they were going to talk some more before the night was over, but apparently she had already finished. 

"She doesn't seem to like you very much," Davak muttered looking after her form. 

"That's just how she is," the medical woman responded with a chuckle. "Doesn't do well with crowds."  

"Too bad for her," the lieutenant laughed clearly drunk. 

It didn't quite make sense to Chekov. A lot of the time when he saw her Oen was sleeping in the mess hall with people around her, and sometimes she was awake. Granted it was louder in the smaller room, and even more so since most everyone was intoxicated. Perhaps that was the bigger part of it. 

-x- 

Five days went by slowly as Chekov wondered each night if Oen would be in the mess hall so they could talk again. It had gotten to the point where he was considering waking her up if she was sleeping in order to talk to her again, but she wasn't there. Initially, after the party, he'd wondered if the medical ensign would talk to him about why she had left the next night. Then he was sure that there was something he'd done wrong to make her want to leave so quickly after meeting his other friends from that night. 

He could definitely understand her not being comfortable around Davak, as the man was practically drooling over the women he'd brought to his table. At the end of the night he went home with no one because he was too drunk, he'd passed out at the table and some of his close friends took him back to his room. Though he had asked Chekov if the navigator had been lucky enough to land one of them for himself. Forgetting that after Oen had left for the night Chekov excused himself about a half hour later, finding that he only wanted to talk to the small girl who was no longer there. 

The sixth day after the party Chekov was going down to the engines to work with Mr. Scott, slightly anxious for what he could ask the man about what Oen might be thinking. They greeted each other friendly enough, perhaps even more so now that they had the medical ensign in common. 

It didn't come up in their conversation, the night of the party loomed in Chekov's head heavily, but somehow it felt weird to talk about Oen when she wasn't there. 

During dinner the navigator sat at an empty table after scanning the mess hall and catching no sight of Oen. She was probably just busy, with all the work McCoy seemed to dump on her all the time it shouldn't come as much of a surprise.  

He started eating slowly, jerking his attention upwards at the sound of something being set on the table in front of him. His gaze traveling up the white mug of steam to eventually land of the guilty looking face of the medical ensign he had been hoping to see for the past six days. 

"Good evening," Chekov sputtered out before he could think of anything else. He had always been the one to sit down with her, to be hopeful that she would direct her gaze towards him. Now she was the one sitting down with him, her eyes nervous as she sank down into the chair across from him. 

"Good evening," she responded with a sheepish smile before it turned into a thin line. "I'm going to start off right away, because I'm afraid I'll lose my nerve," she sighed fidgeting with her hands around the mug. 

"Okay," the navigator replied, unsure of what else he could say. 

"I didn't mean to bail out on you the other night," she sighed. "I found Scotty almost passed out at the bar and sent him back to his room. Then saw you with some of your friends and didn't want to get involved," she explained with an ashamed blush. "I'm not very good with meeting new people, but I didn't want to pull you away. So, that's why I left." 

"Oh," Chekov said. "I just thought you left because of Davak." 

"Well, he was kind of creeping on those women, but I just wanted you to know that it wasn't anything you did. Just in case you-," she faltered after looking at his confused expression. "What?" 

"How come you're okay with being around all these people," he motioned towards everyone else in the mess hall. "All the time. But can’t handle the people in the bar? Was it the noise? Didn't you say you liked loud?" All the questions that he'd been thinking about over the past few days spilled out of him suddenly, and for a moment he wondered if Oen would even bother to answer them. 

"It's weird," she stopped for a moment to collect her words. "I'm completely fine with being alone when I know I can just walk over to a table and talk to someone, not that I would ever do that," the last part was muttered under her breath. "But it's different when I'm in a room of people who I vaguely know." 

"How so?" He pushed. Chekov would never stop appreciating the fact that Oen was always open to answer the questions he threw at her. Even the more personal ones that other people might cringe at. 

"Somehow I feel more alone in a crowd of people than I do by myself," she said looking away from him in favor of her tea. "Because I realize that those people don't know me, they don't care about me, and if I wasn't there they wouldn't notice." 

Her voice hung in the air and Chekov imagined the small form of Oen standing in the middle of a drunk crowd of people. Her ears and tail flicking back and forth as she tried ot say something but was ignored. She was still looking at the table, face downcast and disappointed. 

"I noticed," Chekov paused. He was waiting for Oen to look up at him before continuing. "That after you left it was boring." 

"Oh yeah?" She smiled, her ears perking up. "That's nice of you to say." 

Her lips had curled up slightly when she smiled at him and the navigator watched in amusement, how had not been interested by this girl immediately after starting the five year mission? He loved that she was still young enough to show most of her emotions on her face, and with her ears so openly. Most of the time he didn't even have to ask to know what she was feeling. 

"I left not too long afterwards, it was lonely without you," he teased watching her laugh in disbelief. 

"Well now you're just pulling my leg," she scoffed making the navigator laugh. 

Chekov no longer cared that Oen had left him at the party, as soon as she had mentioned her discomfort with being in a crowd of people he was thinking about what he could have done differently that night. If it happened again, and he could tell that she was starting to feel alone, he could take her hand and lead her out. Oen was the only one he really wanted to talk to anyway.


	4. Petty Arguements

"Are you free tomorrow night?"  

The question had Chekov almost gagging on his food, as he tried to respond immediately to the medical ensign in front of him. 

In the month that followed the party Oen and Chekov had been talking to each other a lot more often than before. In the past the navigator had been happy to have a conversation with her once a week, or every other week sometimes, but it was different now. Instead of finding her sleeping in the mess hall she looked up when he entered and smiled softly in his direction. 

Which meant that she was listening for her, or at least recognized the sound of his footsteps as he came down the hall. He could imagine the way her ears flicked towards the door and perked up, and couldn’t help but see the crinkle of Oen's lips as she smirked at him. During lunch she was, more often than not, with Mr. Scott and Keenser, drinking tea and exchanging stories. They'd run into each other a few times as he went down to ask the engineer something. 

Again, Chekov was comfortable with Oen. Some nights during dinner, if they'd both had a harrowing day, there wasn't much conversation. Just idle chatter about things that missed from home, or their favorite planets that they'd explored so far. Or the topic would be lively and vast. Chekov found out early on that Oen liked to listen to him talk more than she liked to talk about herself, _'I love it when people are passionate about what they do,_ ' she'd said. That it made her want to be excited about it as well. 

He'd grown used to seeing her ears twitching at an empty table waiting for him, or the way he never seemed too awkward when talking. Even though he wished to get closer to her, to be more than what they currently were. Chekov was content to stay where they were. 

Her query came as a great surprise, and the sharp intake of breath invited food down the wrong pipe making him cough. Oen looked at him with an amused, yet startled expression on her face. The navigator did his best to cover his mouth and look away from her, embarrassed to have been so taken aback by the question. 

"Deep breaths, get it out of your lungs," she urged him when he continued to cough. 

"Sorry," Chekov choked finally getting over it. 

"I guess this is why we shouldn't talk when we're eating," she teased with a grin. 

"Why? What's tomorrow?" He finally got out. If she was inviting him to something than the answer was more than likely to be yes, but if it had something to do with work she'd get more reluctance from him. 

"Movie night," she said as if it was common knowledge. "I thought I mentioned them to you once." 

"Old movies," he muttered thinking back to their previous topics. "Bad ones, right?" 

"Yeah," she grinned. Appearing happy that he remembered something from their past conversations, Chekov couldn't help but smile as well. "Well, I only ever invite Scotty and Keenser, because they're my only friends," she mumbled the last part. "But now I have you." 

While talking about the chief engineer Oen had been looking down at the table, perhaps a little ashamed by her small number of people she considered friends. As she said the last part about him her eyes looked up to meet his own and she offered him a sideways smile. It had sounded a little provocative even and the navigator's mind went wild with imagination. She could have him whenever she wanted. 

"Three friends," she grinned at him. "We're watching an old western this time, it'll be awful, but we always have fun laughing at them. If you're free come to my room at eight, it should give you enough time to eat first," she explained glancing around the room. 

"I don't have anything else," he smiled at her. 

"So I should expect to see you there?" She looked suspicious of him. 

"Do I need to bring anything?" He countered. 

"No, Scotty always brings his own alcohol, I'm sure he'd let you have some," she shrugged. "Oh," her gasp caught him by surprise. "A sense of humor, don't forget that." 

"Very funny," he deadpanned and made her smirk slyly. 

-x- 

As far as Chekov was concerned, the next day didn't go by fast enough. He was anxious and nervous all morning and after lunch couldn't help but want the remaining hours of the afternoon to vanish quickly. 

Dinner was served anytime between five and midnight, some of the crew members liked to eat later than others. Chekov usually showed up around seven to eat and by that time Oen was already sitting down with her cup of tea, which meant that she showed up earlier to eat her own food. He'd have to eat really slowly if he wanted to fill up the hour with anything but anticipation, at least this way he was doing something. 

Instead of Oen opening the door it was Scotty, who cheered upon his arrival, he probably already had a few drinks in his system. Her room looked to be the same size as his own, but the way she'd moved things around and decorated made the room appear much larger. A large couch took up most of the space where his desk and chair was. It had three sections of normal size and one longer piece at the end, Chekov wondered why the medical ensign would need such a big couch for just her. Perhaps it helped to remind her of her family. 

Keenser was already sitting on the couch in the middle making the navigator wonder who was going to sit on either side of him. He wanted to sit next to Oen, no questions asked, but if she sat down first and then Scotty went next to her he'd be on the other side of Keenser. Which was also fine, he wasn't going to make a scene because he didn't get to sit where he wanted, he'd just have to wait for next time. 

"Glad you could make it," Oen said walking in behind him. He looked at her suspiciously and she frowned as if caught. "Dr. McCoy needed me to finish some work real quick," she explained.  

"So you almost missed your own movie night?" He joked with a stern expression. 

"No," her tone was rushed, as if she was embarrassed. "Scotty knew what was happening,he was supposed to tell you that I was coming," she gave him a dirty look. 

"Lass is going to be late," the engineer added before dropping down next to Keenser. Nearer to the long side of the couch, he immediately took off his shoes and threw his legs up on it. 

"Thanks," she spat out in fake annoyance. 

After pushing a couple buttons on her screen Oen sat down on the other side of Keenser, which left the spot next to her available and Chekov was more than happy to take it. Her tail flicked slightly in between their legs for a moment before settling over her knees. The navigator could easily see over her head even when they were sitting down and felt the sudden urge to pull her into his lap. He imagined how the closeness of their bodies might make them blush, and he'd be able to feel the soft brush of her ears against his chin and neck. Though he had to stop himself short, she'd only just invited him over. Lap seats were a long way off, if they ever happened at all anyway. 

 They ended up talking over most of the movie, laughing about old techniques that had been used and mistakes that the director had missed. Scotty and Oen went back and forth most of the time, talking over Keenser until the smaller alien grunted something and made the engineer laugh loudly. 

"But," Oen started off glancing at the screen. "I thought he lost his jacket in the desert, how did he get it back?" 

"Didn't he take that one off a dead guy?" Chekov muttered recalling the scene from fifteen minutes ago. 

"Why does it look the same then?" She questioned turning to stare at the navigator suddenly. They were so close he'd been able to feel some of her hair hit him lightly on the shoulder as she moved. "Doesn't it look like the same jacket?" 

"It's a different color," Scotty cut in leaning out to look at them. 

"No it's not," the medical ensign sighed. 

"Maybe the guy he killed found his in the desert," the navigator suggested. 

"He must have really hated his own jacket then," Scotty laughed.  

"Looks that way." Chekov chuckled. 

"Yeah right," Oen sneered looking back at the screen. 

"Oh," Scotty replied. "I like that." 

"They probably had a low budget for this film," she mumbled crossing her arms. 

Chekov noticed that when Oen was really fired up for an argument or conversation her tail would flick back and forth between them. She'd also stare at whoever she was talking to steadily, holding their gaze with her own until one of them looked away. Scotty was always able to get her to look away first, because he'd crack a joke or grin in order to make her break as well. 

Initially, Chekov had been a little nervous about being alone with just Scotty, Keenser, and Oen. That it might feel as if he was trying to break into their normal hang out routine with his presence, but it didn't feel that way at all. They made him feel like it was normal to be there, like he had always been welcome to sit on her couch and argue about something that didn't matter at all. It was comfortable, and something that Oen always seemed to make him feel. Accepted. 

When the movie ended they talked idly about the previous week, and gave Chekov a summary of what they had watched before comparing the two. Oen liked the story from last week better while Scotty was all for the action from that nights movie, Chekov had nothing to compare it to but said he liked all the conversation they'd had throughout. 

"Really, good," Oen replied. "My younger brothers get annoyed when I do that, so I was hoping you'd be okay with it." 

"I've never done this before, it was fun," he assured her. 

"Great," her smile was infectious. "Want to come next week too? We try to have it every Wednesday night, because Scotty doesn't work until nine the next morning. That way he can get over his hangover," she explained. 

"I should be free, don't usually have anything after dinner," he lied.  

Sometimes the navigator would go to the bar and wonder about what Oen was doing an any given night, or hang out with some other guys from the helm. After a moment he remembered that the medical ensign could more than likely hear his change in heartbeat as he fibbed. If her slightly confused expression was anything to go by she'd caught some of it. 

"Well, don't force yourself," she said sheepishly.  

"I never do," Scotty cut in with a grin. 

"Wasn't talking to you," her face split in a grin. "Well, if you're available," she started, her ears flattening. "We will be here." 

"Thanks," he smiled at her. "It was fun, have a good rest of the night," he nodded at her before leaving.  

"Good night," she called after him. 

-x- 

The following three weeks found Chekov back at Oen's room for every movie night that she had, and tonight was no different. One thing that Chekov started to notice about Oen was that her personality from person to person didn't change on account of whether or not she knew them. She had treated him friendly during their first conversations, even though he had been a random ensign that walked up to her table randomly. She spoke to him the same way she did to Scotty or Dr. McCoy, and even now that they knew each other better, she was still the same. 

When revoked enough Oen was very sarcastic with her words, and sometimes she said things so seriously Chekov was unsure if she was joking to not. Scotty always seemed to know, so perhaps it would come to him in time, and he was fine with that. As long as he was invited to Movie night the navigator was sure he'd only learn more about her. 

They were already half-way through the movie when someone knocked on her door loudly. It was a little funny because they all looked at each other for a moment, curious as to who would come knocking when all of them were already there. 

"Well I guess this is my room," Oen muttered before going to open the door. It was Dr. McCoy, looking as he always did, grumpy. "Dr. McCoy," she sounded surprised. "Did something happen after I left?" 

"Captain wants us planetside tomorrow," he explained watching her eyes widen confusion. 

"But I thought-," she started before the man cut her off. 

"The other ensigns can handle one day by themselves Oen," he sighed. "Some of the natives were wounded, and I couldn't figure out what was wrong with them. You might be able to, we need you." 

Oen glanced back at Scotty for a moment, her face unreadable, although her ears were flattened almost completely to her head, she was nervous. 

"Are they friendly?" She questioned. Although the medical ensign had spoken frequently about wanting to explore the planets that explored she also mentioned how she was somewhat anxious to be in a new place.  

"There's going to be other people with us, people with guns," he assured her. "Just in case, they seemed nice enough today." 

"Okay," she muttered looking up at him. "When do we leave in the morning?" 

Details were discussed quickly as Dr. McCoy noticed that Oen was hanging out with some other people and he didn't want to intrude too much more. They were leaving early in the morning in order to get on the planet with enough time to treat the wounded before the sun went down. At night the temperature dropped rapidly enough to trap them until the next morning. 

The movie was unpaused quickly, apparently Oen didn't want to give her friends a chance to ask her how she felt about her first adventure planetside since being on the Enterprise. Chekov half expected the conversations following to be stiff and broken, but the medical ensign showed no signs of being worried about the day to come. It was like Dr. McCoy never even knocked on their door. 

Only after the movie ended did she mention it again. 

"I'm excited to go down," she turned to them after switching off the screen. "But I'm worried that something will go wrong," her voice trembled a little bit. Chekov wasn't sure what he could say to make it better for her, because he was confused about what she meant when she said something might happen. What did she think was going to occur? 

"You'll be fine Oen," Scotty replied immediately.  

Apparently the engineer knew exactly what she was referring to, and for a moment the navigator felt left out, was it something she only told her really close friends? How much closer did he have to get? The Scottish man followed Oen as she got up to take their cups, her hands fidgeting slightly. 

"Dr. McCoy will be there to help you," he said stopping in front of her. She looked up at him and Chekov watched as her ears twitched up a little bit, they'd become flat again after she'd started talking about it.  

"I doubt you'll need his help," Chekov tried to add in a bit of humor. The comment made her smile softly, and the navigator was thankful that he'd forced himself into the conversation. 

"Then he's a bodyguard, and I'll talk to him if you want me to," he offered. "Fill him in." 

"He already knows," she said turning away from him. 

"Knows what?" Chekov asked before he could stop himself. They looked at him suddenly, and Keenser grunted something that made Scotty sigh. 

"Oh, I'm sorry," Oen laughed sheepishly. "I thought I told you already, not like I'm keeping it a secret or anything anyway," she muttered. 

"Don't think about it right now," Scotty interrupted her. Now Chekov was really curious about what it could possibly be that was making her nervous, and why Scotty seemed so protective over her all of a sudden. 

"Tomorrow then, at dinner," Oen nodded at him. "After I get back, I'll tell you. It's nothing big, anymore," she whispered the last word. "But this tiny freak out will definitely make sense after you know," she explained. 

"Okay," Chekov said uncertainly. "I'll be waiting for you then." 

"Hah," she laughed shortly as Scotty shook his head next to her. "I might beat you there." 

-x- 

What Chekov hadn't been expecting to happen took place on the bridge. The Captain, Spock, Dr. McCoy, Oen, and a handful of other security personnel went planetside and left Mr. Sulu in charge to make commands while they were gone. Every once in a while the navigator would hear blips of their conversations and what was happening with them all below. 

Apparently Oen was able to figure out what was ailing them and helped to heal a handful of the natives before word spread that there was a doctor from the stars. 

"We might be busy for a while," the Captain sighed. 

It was quiet for a couple hours after that, and Chekov could only imagine what might be going on with Oen or how she was doing. The navigator was still anxious to know what Oen could possibly have to tell him about what had happened to make her so worried about a simple mission. Yet, at the same time, he was excited to know more about her, to be on the same level as Scotty and be able to comfort her like he had the night before. 

"Spock to Enterprise, the natives are being attacked," a voice broke through the silence. 

"Are they attacking you?" Sulu asked ordering them to lock on their crew immediately.  

"It appears to be an enemy tribe, they are demanding we hand over our doctors," Spock continued making Chekov freeze. The Vulcan said something else afterwards but his words were drowned out by screaming and explosions, as well as shots from a blaster. 

"Can you lock on to them?" Sulu questioned in a stern tone.  

"There's too much interference," was the reply. 

"Caradoc and Dr. McCoy are gone, the Captain is injured," Spock's voice came once again. 

"They're leaving I can get them now." 

"Do it," Sulu said. 

The information rushed around Chekov's head rapidly and he rose suddenly to his feet as someone on the bridge announced that they were able to beam them back. From what it sounded like, Oen and Dr. McCoy where nowhere to be seen, but that could still mean that they were able to get them in the end right? It didn't mean they had been taken. 

Yet when he entered the room there were two blue shirts missing from the group. 

"What happened?" Chekov stuttered out. 

"We were ambushed," one of the security men explained. He was bleeding from a cut on his arm and a medical ensign was already looking over it as he spoke. "They separated us from the doctors and we lost sight of them." 

Spock was holding up the Captain who looked very angry even as he bled from a cut on his head. 

"I told you not to leave until we had them," Kirk seethed tried to jerk himself out of the Vulcan's grasp. "It's my fault she got hurt." The words made Chekov stiffen, Oen had been the only girl in the group, but it could still be someone else right? Maybe one of the natives? 

"Captain you were injured," Spock shot back. "She has Dr. McCoy, our best chance is to figure this out tonight and get them back tomorrow." 

"What if tomorrow is too late?" He growled. "She's just a kid."


	5. Taken

The rest of the night was spent with one of the natives from the group that was attacked. Spock and Kirk grilled the alien with questions about who they were up against and what the enemy could possibly want with the doctors. They didn't know why, but found out where Oen and Dr. McCoy may have been taken and where in the camp they were probably located. 

Everything happened in a whirlwind around Chekov, his thoughts so wrapped up in worrying about how badly Oen might be injured and if he could help. Scotty was on the bridge within minutes of the announcement to the Enterprise about what had happened planetside. The Scottish man went straight for the Captain with a raging anger about his face and a frown carved deep into his skin. 

"Whatever you decide I'm going down there," he stated. Kirk turned slowly towards the man and sighed, Chekov had wanted to say something along the same lines but was waiting until the final plans were made before he said anything. 

"I know you care for the girl-," the captain started but was cut off. 

"You don’t know anything," Scotty's face started to redden. 

"Mr. Scott we can handle this situation, it is illogical for you to come as well," Spock stated, earning a glare from the engineer. 

"Screw your logic," he seethed. "I'm going." 

"We're going to get her back Scotty, I promise," Kirk sounded sincere but the Scottish man wasn't having it. For a moment Chekov wondered just how close Oen was to the man, how much she had told him that she hadn't even mentioned to the navigator. Was it just a friendship? Or did the engineer think they were closer than that? What did Oen think? 

"I told her it would be okay, that nothing was going to happen," he said. Chekov could still remember Oen's worried expression as she looked at them the night before. Something had been bothering her about going on the mission, and she was going to tell him about it, but now he was left to wonder. 

"You didn't know this was going to happen, you weren't even there," Uhura cut in. 

"Doesn't matter, Captain please, let me go with you," he pleaded. 

"Fine," Kirk put up his hands in defeat. "Chekov, take over Mr. Scott's position until he returns." 

The navigators heart sank at the instructions, he wanted to go as well. To make sure that Oen was okay, that she would still smile at him in the hallway and look up when he walked up to her table at dinner. Yet he couldn't bring himself to say anything but. 

"Aye, sir." 

That was what led up to Scotty running down the halls with him towards the engines, explaining everything he might need to know that he didn't already. It was rushed and, although the navigator was able to catch some of it, he found himself second guessing everything that he'd learned up until that point. All he could think about at the moment were all the times that he'd been down there and Oen had been there grinning at him or picking on the engineer. 

"Keenser will be down there with you, he knows everything I do," the Scottish man finished as they moved inside. The little alien was already waiting for them and looked worriedly at Scotty. "I'm going to get her," he explained. 

Looking around anxiously the engineer seemed to be taking mental notes of everything before he turned to leave. 

"Mr. Scott," Chekov caught his attention before he disappeared around the corner. "Bring her back safely." 

"I will laddie," he nodded. 

In the next moment he was gone, leaving the navigator and Keenser to look at each other anxiously, hoping and praying that everything would go okay. 

-x- 

Dr. McCoy was having very much the same thoughts as he picked up Oen's limp form and carried it back towards their prison. Initially the girl had gotten hurt pushing the Captain out of the way and taking a blow to the head that had cut a gash just above her left eyebrow and made her easier to capture. The doctor had given up easily at that point, if only to make sure that she was okay, even though she insisted that she was. 

She'd gone as far as making a joke about how she might actually pass out for once, and how it'd never happened to her before. As if what was happening was a laughing matter, he had to admire her positivity at least. 

Then they'd taken her away from him, and given her back unconscious and bruised. Sometime during their capture his scanner had been lost, leaving him to assess her damage by himself. At least five hours had passed since then, if the light disappearing was any gauge of time anyway, and he had to count them lucky that her head had stopped bleeding. 

"Damnit," he cursed at the sight of her drooping ears. "I'm sorry Oen," he shifted her into his lap as he sat down. 

Over the past months, when she'd first shown up on the Enterprise Dr. McCoy thought she was another young genius, like Chekov. Which she was, but her attitude was completely different from what he'd been expecting of her. 

When others tried to pick on her for her height she always had a snappy reply or a sarcastic remark that made him chuckle. _Just because she was young didn't mean she was ignorant_ , was something she'd actually snarled at one of the other ensigns who was questioning her judgment. Her cold stare was something they all got used to after a couple months, and they learned to ignore the blank expression on her face. Everything they needed to know about how she was feeling went straight to her ears, which was something the doctor liked. It made her blush in anger when he'd call her out on it. 

She was his responsibility. 

Oen had told him about her brother, and what happened, and he'd promised her that everything would be okay. For whatever reason, she had trusted him enough to reveal why she was afraid to go planetside, and he'd let her down. 

Their cell was small, with nothing but what looked like large leaves in the corner of the room, perhaps they were used as blankets or something. Three walls made up the triangular space around them, each one packed hard with sharp rocks and mud. At the top of the cell there were little windows to let the light in, it was just dim enough for Dr. McCoy to be able to make out Oen's face, and the blood that had dried on her cheek. He'd tried the door immediately after they'd taken her away, but it was just as rocky as the walls and disappeared into them, making it impossible to grasp. 

He didn't doubt that Jim would come for them, as soon as they had been capture he was sure the man was running around to form a plan immediately. What had him worried was Oen, and how she would handle everything that had happened. 

There were bruises around her neck that had just started forming, and he couldn't even begin to guess what else had occurred during the time that she had been alone with them. The only good thing was that whatever these aliens wanted from them was still needed, because they might be already dead otherwise. For now, all he could do was keep Oen off of the cold rock covered floor until they were rescued, or needed again. 

Perhaps an hour or two later there was the familiar sound of a blaster that fired off in the distance. The doctor had been hoping that Oen would rouse around and talk to him, it would mean she was better off than he thought. Instead she'd stayed limp in his arms except for the small rise and fall of her chest and she breathed.  

A couple more shots went off before there was someone running past their cell, although the person on the other side might not know it. Spock had mentioned something about how the planet threw off their tracking because of what it was made up of, and it would explain what took them so long to track them. He hadn’t considered it a problem until they'd been captured, certain parts of the planet were dead zones, they were probably in one right now. 

"Bones?" He recognized Jim's voice immediately. 

"Jim, in here," Dr. McCoy responded. He could hear the retreating footsteps stop and come back to him quickly. 

"Do you have the kid? Is she okay?" 

"She's unconscious, they did something to her," he explained trying to get to his feet while holding her.  

"Damnit," he heard the man curse. "Where is the door?" Jim seethed and the doctor could only imagine the anger on his face. More footsteps joined the Captain on the other side of the wall and Dr. McCoy could pick out the voices of Spock and, strangely enough, Scotty as well.  

Red light could be seen through the windows above them before someone shoved the door open and illuminated their battered figures to those outside. 

"Mr. Sulu we have them," Spock said into his communicator immediately. 

"I can take the lass," Scotty moved to take Oen from him but Dr. McCoy walked quickly out the door. He could handle carrying her a little longer, and as soon as they were back on the ship it was straight to medical anyway. 

"It's okay, I've got her," he assured the engineer. "Just make sure no one hits us." 

The doctor understood what Oen's relationship was with Scotty, they were friends. The girl would often joke about how the man was one of her only comrades aboard the Enterprise and oftentimes eat lunch with him. He should hand her over to the Scottish man, but at the moment just couldn't let go. McCoy wouldn't feel okay until she was waking up in medical with a suspicious look on her face. 

"I can do that," Scotty replied. 

-x- 

She looked even smaller than normal in McCoy's arms and Chekov had to stop himself from rushing forward to grab her the second the group appeared in front of him. He'd been spending the good part of four hours with Keenser in the engines before the little alien forced him out to see if everything was okay with the rescue mission. Or perhaps it was because of the nervous drumming that the navigator had been doing with his fingers against the control console was driving Keenser insane.  

Either way, it was how Chekov found himself staring at the limp form of Oen in her bosses arms as they materialized in front of him. 

"What happened?" He said before he could stop himself. 

"Not sure laddie," Scotty answered him. Kirk, McCoy, and Scotty moved immediately towards the door and rushed towards the medical ward. The navigator could do nothing but follow as they started yelling commands to anyone who got in the way or might be able to help. 

As soon as they had her on a bed McCoy jumped into action, even as a few other medical personnel tried to assess his own wounds. Grabbing a scanner quickly he started by checking her temperature and heartbeat while a few other ensigns wiped the blood off her face and cleaned her wounds. 

"Get out," he shouted at Chekov, Scott, and Kirk. The captain had tried to force himself in to help out, apparently still feeling somewhat responsible for what happened, when the doctor had yelled at him. "I'll contact you when we've figured out what's wrong." 

"Bones-," Kirk started but was cut off. 

"Take Chekov for a drink, he could use one," he finished before turning around. 

At that moment the captain seemed to finally take in his presence and offered him a suspicious stare. 

"Aren't you supposed to be in the engine room?" 

"Keenser has it handled," he stated as they walked out of med bay.  

"He's worried about the lass," Scotty explained earning a glare from the navigator. 

"Well, let's go get rid of our nerves," Kirk sighed before stalking off towards one of the bars.  

It was quiet at first as they all settled into their drinks and thought about things. Chekov hadn’t known what to expect with Oen, he'd heard that she was hurt but not unconscious, not bleeding, and limp. Her appearance had startled him, how small and vulnerable she looked being carried. Even when she was sleeping at dinner her ears would twitch every so often at certain sounds. Yet in McCoy's arms they looked flat and unmoving, as if all the life had been sucked out of them, it made him feel sick. 

Sometimes when they spoke to each other she said things that were personal to herself, and it made him wonder how she could talk about it so easily. Perhaps, in that moment it made her vulnerable to him, the things he knew about her, but he'd never thought about it. Oen was stubborn and level headed, stern when she needed to be while still holding an air of sarcasm that he liked. But all he could think about at the moment was wanting to hold her close and feel her wake up in his arms. See her smile and know that she was okay. 

"Is what Bones said true?" The captain suddenly caught their attention. "About her brother, I mean." 

He'd already had a couple drinks and was pouring another glass when Scotty replied. 

"It happened a year before she came to the Enterprise," the engineer started. "He was on mission for Starfleet, it was supposed to be an easy one, but his group was ambushed. Everyone got ripped apart by the natives before their captain even knew what was happening. They gathered up as much as they could and sent their bodies back home in pieces," he said before draining his own glass. 

"That's why she was nervous," Chekov muttered staring down at his liquor.  

"She was nervous?" Kirk questioned jerking his attention to the navigator.  

"Her original plan was to join her brother on his ship, but after he died she just wanted to get away from everything. The five year mission was perfect for that, that's why Bones was so angry," The Scottish man finished. 

"Poor kid," the captain sighed. "You better treat her well," he turned his attention once again to Chekov. 

"We're friends," the navigator insisted. Kirk stared at him with a withered expression on his face, as if he was disappointed in such an answer. 

"If you don't want her someone else will," was all he said before turning back to his drink. 

"Some people have already tried," Scotty chuckled softly. 

"What?" Chekov seethed unable to stop himself. 

"She tells me about it all the time, probably because she doesn't have any other friends," he muttered the last part in a very Oen like way. "Mostly other ensigns, but also a few lieutenants who think she's cute." 

"She is cute," Kirk agreed. They were all a little drunk now, if the captains loose mouth was anything to go by. 

"Like a little sister, isn't she?" Scotty mused leaning against the counter. 

"Yeah," he nodded again. Something flashed between them and Kirk looked down, suddenly appearing very sober as he stood up and moved towards the door. "Bones is calling, let's go." 

McCoy met them in front of her bed and grumbled about their intoxication before telling them what he figured out. Oen had a concussion and some cuts here and there that they had already taken care of. He guessed that she would probably be out for the remainder of the night but be fine by the morning and would probably be her normal stubborn self in no time. 

"Do you still feel responsible?" The doctor questioned of the Captain. 

"Little bit," the man frowned. "But I'm going to give her a couple days off to make up for it." 

"I already did that," McCoy grunted. 

"Oh, he beat you to it," Scotty laughed already in good spirits after the positive news. 

"Damnit Bones." 

"Come back in the morning, all of you, you're being too loud," Bones sighed.  

Reluctantly, Chekov left the room. It was still a couple hours until dinner time, the mission had taken place early in the morning and returned Oen to them around eleven as the terrain on the planet was a little hard to get around. Strangely the navigator was already drunk, usually it was reserved for after dinner, or during, depending on what kind of day it had been. Of course, had he not already been drunk Chekov was sure to head over to a bar after what had happened today. 

Instead of going back on his job, which the Captain advised against since he was a little tipsy Checkov and Mr. Scott went back to the engines. The head engineer figured he had some explaining to do to Keenser and then he could teach the ensign a few things to suck up some time before dinner. Oen was back to them, Dr. McCoy said she was fine, and they believed him, now it was just a matter of when she would wake up. 

"Will she take it well?" Checkov blurted out. They'd been going over some information, although he wasn't quite listening at the moment, his mind stuck on how Oen liked to sit and mull things over. 

"I was wondering about that too," the Scottish man muttered. "She's strong and stubborn, so, if anything, I'm sure she'll try to hide it from us if it is bothering her." 

"So we bug her then?" 

"Oh yeah, if she looks tired or is acting differently pounce on her," the man nodded. Keenser made as few noises that had the engineer sighing. "Well not actually tackle her, jeez, who do you think I am?" 

-x- 

When Oen first woke up it was only to Dr. McCoy who scowled at her like he always did, until she offered him a soft, tired smile, and then his features softened. He'd been trying to think about what kind of care she would need in the following days or weeks since she might have nightmares about what happened. 

"How do you feel?" He finally growled out. 

"Better," she whispered.  

They'd already closed up the cut on her head, though the doctor could still close his eyes and see the blood that had dripped down her cheek. He grumbled again and watched as the young ensign's ears flicked towards him trying to pick out any words he might have said under his breath. It was a funny thing to be relieved that they were moving again, and telling all her emotions, it meant that she was okay. 

"Damnit you scared us, unconscious and bleeding," he was trying not to sound angry.  

The doctor was happy to see that she was awake and fine, but the memory of them bringing her back to the cell limp and sullen hung in his mind. He often took her for granted during the day, even though she was small she'd proven able to take care of herself and even gave back his sarcasm word for word which was fun. Sometimes he forgot she was still just a kid, someone who had lost her brother and run away from her family in order to escape the pain.  

He should've been watching out for her more closely. 

"Didn't mean to scare anyone," she frowned. "How was I supposed to know they were going to slam me into the ground," she chuckled softly. The man in front of her stiffened before pushing her for more information on what had happened during the time that they were separated. 

"Is that what happened?" 

"I think they wanted me to save their leader, to heal him like I'd healed everyone else, but I couldn't-," her voice broke off suddenly. She looked unsatisfied with herself, biting her lip slightly while her drooped down sadly. "He was dying, I couldn't do anything," she looked away from him then. "They got mad and started to threaten me, I think, didn't really understand them," she shrugged. 

"We lost our translators during the ambush," he grunted. 

"One of them grabbed me around the neck and forced me to the ground, kind of just screeching at me, he was probably angry, distressed, and scared for his leader. But the last thing I remember is a blaring pain in my head and then I was gone," she explained. 

Leave it to Oen to sympathize with the enemy, leave their atrocities as fear and simple want for their boss to be okay. The way she was speaking about it the doctor could tell that she wasn't angry with them and perhaps still felt bad for how she had failed them. He hated that part about her but knew that nothing he could say would break her from such feelings, he and Oen often butted heads for such things. 

"Get some rest," he finally muttered. 

"Concussions make me sleepy," she chuckled making him turn on her suddenly. The ensign merely smiled at him, she was teasing him even in sickbay. 

In the morning Scotty was the first one to arrive, with Keenser in tow, the Captain joined them soon after followed by Chekov. Bones growled at them clogging up the medical ward with their anxiousness but Kirk easily pushed him off and sat down in a chair before the doctor could say anything else. When Oen woke up it was her ears that gave her away initially, they started to flicker this way and that, taking in their soft voices. A welcome sight for the engineer and the navigator especially. 

The first thing the Scottish man did was apologize, and then scold her for trying to help the Captain when the man could obviously take care of himself, he was a man for goodness sake! Kirk said much of the same and made Oen laugh saying that she would have done it for anyone. 

Checkov didn't get to say much between everyone else, as even Dr. McCoy joined in at one point telling them what he had already drilled into her should she ever go planet side again. But the navigator was happy to be there all the same, a couple times she had caught his gaze and nodded with a soft smile in his direction. A silent thank you passing between them, all her friends, or those she considered as such were right in front of her, worried and relieved, and there was nothing more she could hope for. 

It ended with Dr. McCoy finally shooing them out of the room, explaining that she was going to rest for the remainder of the day, and be back on her feet in the morning. Ready for the week, probably happy to get back to work again. 

"Pavel," she called out to the navigator before he'd gotten completely out the door. At the sound of her voice he turned back towards her, not even quite processing that she had said his name. "Thanks," she smiled. 

"Always," he said before turning to leave once again. Only after he'd gotten out of the med bay did he stop himself, what did that even mean? Was he saying that he would always come when she needed him, or did it seem like he was expecting her to say thank you? Of course he was aiming for the first one, because he cared about her, but what kind of response was that? He'd have to do better next time. 

A few moments later his brain caught up with him as he remembered the sound of his name coming out of her mouth. Not his last name, his first one. It sounded nice on her tongue, and strange at the same time, reminding him of when she had called out to him for the first time all those nights ago. He liked it, liked her. 

Maybe next time he'd call her Oen.


End file.
